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Review
. 2024 Oct;41(5):567-587.
doi: 10.1007/s10585-024-10269-3. Epub 2024 Mar 15.

The movement of mitochondria in breast cancer: internal motility and intercellular transfer of mitochondria

Sarah Libring  1 , Emily D Berestesky  1 , Cynthia A Reinhart-King  2
Affiliations
Review

The movement of mitochondria in breast cancer: internal motility and intercellular transfer of mitochondria

Sarah Libring et al. Clin Exp Metastasis. 2024 Oct.

Abstract

As a major energy source for cells, mitochondria are involved in cell growth and proliferation, as well as migration, cell fate decisions, and many other aspects of cellular function. Once thought to be irreparably defective, mitochondrial function in cancer cells has found renewed interest, from suggested potential clinical biomarkers to mitochondria-targeting therapies. Here, we will focus on the effect of mitochondria movement on breast cancer progression. Mitochondria move both within the cell, such as to localize to areas of high energetic need, and between cells, where cells within the stroma have been shown to donate their mitochondria to breast cancer cells via multiple methods including tunneling nanotubes. The donation of mitochondria has been seen to increase the aggressiveness and chemoresistance of breast cancer cells, which has increased recent efforts to uncover the mechanisms of mitochondrial transfer. As metabolism and energetics are gaining attention as clinical targets, a better understanding of mitochondrial function and implications in cancer are required for developing effective, targeted therapeutics for cancer patients.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial transfer; Tunneling nanotubes; mtDNA.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing or financial interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Mitochondrial structure. Graphical representations of A mitochondria in a cell with B key structures inside a mitochondrion labeled. C Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image of a mitochondrion from control skeletal muscle myotubes. Blue arrows indicate areas of mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum contact as quantified in the source work [19] D 3D reconstruction of cristae morphology in wildtype mouse retina using a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope. C and D adapted from Hinton et al. [19] under CC 4.0
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Homotypic TNTs (indicated by arrows) between MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells in vitro, scale bar 20 μm
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Methods of tunneling nanotube formation
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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